page_title: Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers
section_title: Bridging and gap clearance
hierarchical_section_title: Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers / Attachments and accessories / Bridging and gap clearance
caption_attribution_description: English: Churchill AVRE of 163rd Brigade, 54th Division, with fascine during ditch crossing exercises near Dunwich.
context_page_description: Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, also known as Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers is the title given to a series of armoured military engineering vehicles operated by the Royal Engineers for the purpose of protecting engineers during frontline battlefield operations.
  In protecting engineers, the vehicles also became a mobile platform for a variety of engineering purposes, mounting large calibre weapons for demolition, carrying engineering stores, mine clearance explosives, a variety of deployable roadways, and modified engineering bridges for gaps that the related Armoured Ramp Carrier vehicles could not overcome.
context_section_description: During World War 2, the AVRE was provided with a platform allowing a fascine to be carried on the vehicle front while the turret was traversed through 90 degrees.  This could be released from within the vehicle to drop into gaps and ditches, allowing tanks (commencing with the AVRE itself) to cross, or angle up and over a ridge.
  AVRE's could also be modified with mounts and supports to carry a ready-assembled Small Box Girder Bridge from the front glacis plate.  This could be dropped over gaps similar to traditional engineer bridging, or used to provide a ramp over a wall.  Later, a towed version of the Small Box Girder Bridge was also developed, and was able to traverse a Bailey bridge for gaps further along the assault.
  A 60 ft section of Bailey bridge could also be pushed as the "Skid Bailey", with the leading sections raised slightly by winch to overcome obstacles.  This allowed larger gaps to be breached.  Trials and training were also conducted with the Bailey Mobile Bridge, providing 150 ft of bridge articulated on tracks at the centre, and the Brown Bailey, carrying 140 ft of Bailey bridge between two tanks, the rear AVRE launching the bridge over rollers on the front vehicle.
  Post-war a Folding Small Box Girder Bridge was also developed, articulating in the middle.
  AVRE bridging can be distinguished from the Armoured Ramp Carrier (ARK) by both purpose and operator.  AVRE bridges leverage the AVRE to enable Royal Engineers to more safely accomplish traditional bridging activities where an ARK may not be appropriate.  The ARK is intended to rapidly deploy a ramp or smaller gap bridge without the need for specialised engineering skillset, simply by driving into it.  An AVRE deployed fascine could be used to raise the front of the ARK if needed, such as ahead of large sea walls.  Latterly ARK vehicles were used by the Royal Armoured Corps to undertake the task
  Armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) bridge-layer vehicles have replaced AVRE bridging in more recent years, although fascines are still carried for smaller obstacles.
caption: AVRE carrying a fascine over a similar fascine.
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